Why did Jesus say “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? If he is God?

When Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46), He was quoting Psalm 22:1—a well-known Messianic psalm written centuries earlier.

This was not a loss of divinity, confusion, or unbelief. It was a profound moment that reveals both who Jesus is and what He was doing on the cross.

1. Jesus was fully God and fully man

Christian doctrine teaches that Jesus has two natures—fully God and fully human. On the cross, He was experiencing real human suffering: pain, abandonment, and anguish. His cry expresses the depth of that suffering, not a denial of His divinity.

2. He was bearing our sin

The Bible says:

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

At the cross, Jesus took upon Himself the sin of the world. Sin separates humanity from God, and in that moment Jesus experienced the relational separation that sin brings—not because He sinned, but because He carried our sin.

This was not the Trinity breaking apart, but the Son enduring judgment in our place.

3. He was pointing people to Psalm 22

By quoting the opening line of Psalm 22, Jesus was directing attention to a psalm that vividly describes crucifixion—written long before crucifixion was even practiced:

• “They pierce my hands and my feet”

• “They divide my garments among them”

• “All who see me mock me”

The psalm begins in suffering but ends in victory and trust in God. Jesus was showing that what was happening was not defeat—it was fulfillment.

4. The Father did not abandon the Son in essence

While Jesus experienced real abandonment in His humanity and judgment-bearing role, the Father never ceased loving the Son. Jesus Himself said:

“The Father has not left Me alone.” (John 8:29)

The cry was the expression of the cost of redemption, not a fracture in God’s nature.

In short

Jesus cried out not because He stopped being God, but because He was fully entering the consequences of human sin to redeem humanity. It was the darkest moment of suffering—and the very moment salvation was being accomplished.

The cross shows us not a confused Christ, but a faithful Savior, fulfilling Scripture, carrying our sin, and opening the way back to God.